Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources

Context Many Australian mammal species are highly susceptible to predation by introduced domestic cats (Felis catus) and European red foxes (Vulpes vulpes). These predators have caused many extinctions and have driven large distributional and population declines for many more species. The serendipitous occurrence of, and deliberate translocations of mammals to, ‘havens’ (cat- and fox-free offshore islands, and mainland fenced exclosures capable of excluding cats and foxes) has helped avoid further extinction. Aims The aim of this study was to conduct a stocktake of current island and fenced havens in Australia and assess the extent of their protection for threatened mammal taxa that are most susceptible to cat and fox predation. Methods Information was collated from diverse sources to document (1) the locations of havens and (2) the occurrence of populations of predator-susceptible threatened mammals (naturally occurring or translocated) in those havens. The list of predator-susceptible taxa (67 taxa, 52 species) was based on consensus opinion from >25 mammal experts. Key results Seventeen fenced and 101 island havens contain 188 populations of 38 predator-susceptible threatened mammal taxa (32 species). Island havens cover a larger cumulative area than fenced havens (2152 km2 versus 346 km2), and reach larger sizes (largest island 325 km2, with another island of 628 km2 becoming available from 2018; largest fence: 123 km2). Islands and fenced havens contain similar numbers of taxa (27 each), because fenced havens usually contain more taxa per haven. Populations within fences are mostly translocated (43 of 49; 88%). Islands contain translocated populations (30 of 139; 22%); but also protect in situ (109) threatened mammal populations. Conclusions Havens are used increasingly to safeguard threatened predator-susceptible mammals. However, 15 such taxa occur in only one or two havens, and 29 such taxa (43%) are not represented in any havens. The taxon at greatest risk of extinction from predation, and in greatest need of a haven, is the central rock-rat (Zyzomys pedunculatus). Implications Future investment in havens should focus on locations that favour taxa with no (or low) existing haven representation. Although havens can be critical for avoiding extinctions in the short term, they cover a minute proportion of species’ former ranges. Improved options for controlling the impacts of cats and foxes at landscape scales must be developed and implemented.

Abstract The development and refinement of methods for estimating organic carbon accumulation in biomass and soils during mangrove restoration and rehabilitation can encourage uptake of restoration projects for their ecosystem services, including those of climate change mitigation, or blue carbon. To support the development of a blue carbon method for Australia under the Emission Reduction Fund scheme we investigated; (1) whether carbon accumulation data from natural mangroves could be used to estimate carbon accumulation during restoration; (2) modeling mangrove biomass accumulation; and (3) how modeled carbon accumulation could be achieved over heterogeneous sites. First, we assessed carbon accumulation in soil and biomass pools from the global literature, finding that estimating carbon accumulation using data from natural mangroves provided similar estimates as those for restored or rehabilitated mangroves. We assessed mangrove biomass accumulation from global chronosequence studies, which we used to develop regional models for estimating biomass accumulation with restoration in Australia using values from local natural mangroves. Estimating biomass carbon accumulation using site‐based means of stand biomass provided similar estimates as values estimated through use of regional means values stratified by elevation; and reduced overestimates of biomass carbon accumulation that were based on regional mean values. Modeling soil carbon accumulation over environmentally heterogeneous project sites can apply a similar approach, stratifying over variation in site elevation. Our analysis provides a strategy for modeling blue carbon pools for an Australian blue carbon method that accommodates regional differences and is based on data from natural mangroves.

While exceptionally diverse fossil assemblages of non-biomineralised organisms (Lagerstätten) are rare, they are unusually common in marine sedimentary sequences of early and mid-Cambrian age. Their mode of preservation has been the subject of much debate. The lower Cambrian (Series 2) Emu Bay Shale biota, found at Big Gully on the north coast of Kangaroo Island, is by far the richest Burgess Shale-type (BST) fauna known in the southern hemisphere. Such fauna are preserved characteristically as two-dimensional compression fossils, comprising both carbonaceous and mineralised films on bedding surfaces of the host marine mudstones. The biotic diversity of the Big Gully assemblage suggests a habitat very favourable for life. Its preservation is exceptional, with gut remains and other soft parts quite common. Evidence of predation and scavenging is rare, and the finely laminated texture of the host mudstone attests to a lack of burrowing and bioturbation. Recent studies indicate that conservation of organic tissues, rather than authigenic mineralisation of their more labile components, is the principal taphonomic pathway responsible for BST deposits. In so far as such preservation requires suppression of the early diagenetic processes that normally result in the rapid decay of organic matter at or near the sea floor, the oxicity of the bottom waters, below which the Emu Bay Shale accumulated, becomes critically important. Here we determine the paleoredox status of the fossiliferous basal portion of the formation using selected trace element proxies, in combination with total organic carbon (TOC) concentrations and isotopic signatures (δ13Corg). We also establish its degree of thermal alteration as a datum for use in taphonomic comparisons with other Cambrian Lagerstätten. The Emu Bay Shale contains insufficient organic matter (TOC = 0.25–0.55%) to have accumulated under stable anoxic conditions. Even allowing for the inevitable loss of organic carbon during the oil- and gas-generation phases of thermal maturation, to a present rank equivalent to 1.5% vitrinite reflectance, its original TOC content was <1%. Measurement of a series of redox-sensitive elemental ratios (viz. U/Th, V/Cr, Ni/Co and V/Sc) across the lower 8 m-thick fossiliferous section of the Emu Bay Shale confirms that it was deposited beneath an oxic water column. In this respect it is similar to the archetypical Burgess Shale. In the absence of an exaerobic zone, benthic cyanobacterial mats are likely to have mantled recently dead fauna and helped maintain the integrity of a sharp redox boundary at the sediment–water interface.

Australia has ambitions to become a major global hydrogen producer by 2030. The establishment of Australia’s and the world’s hydrogen economy, however, will depend upon the availability of affordable and reliable hydrogen storage. Geological hydrogen storage is a practical solution for large scale storage requirements ensuring hydrogen supply can always meet demand, and excess renewable electricity can be stored for later use, improving electricity network reliability. Hosting thick, underground halite (salt) deposits and an abundance of onshore depleted gas fields, Australia is well placed to take advantage of geological hydrogen storage options to support its ambition of building a global hydrogen hub export industry. Using the Bluecap modelling software, we identify regions in Australia that are potentially profitable for large scale hydrogen production and storage. We use the results of this work to suggest high-potential regions for hydrogen development, supporting policymaker and investor decisions on the locations of new infrastructure and hydrogen projects in Australia.

Using firm‐level data, we analyse the patterns, innovation characteristics and determinants of turnover high‐growth firms (HGFs) in Australia. We find most HGFs do not stay in the high‐growth phase for long, and following the Global Financial Crisis the proportion of HGFs has declined. For HGFs, the results suggest that innovation in goods and services has a much greater impact on turnover growth than for the average firm. For all firms, innovations in goods and services and marketing, and business focus on innovation contribute to turnover growth. Finally, HGFs generate greater returns on investment in research and development than slower growing firms.

Abstract A host of industrialised countries have seen concentration in their industries grow. This trend is fuelling concerns about falling competition. This article focuses on the changing pattern of market concentration in Australia from 2002 to 2017. On average, market concentration has been rising. However, beneath the aggregate statistics, the pattern is rather mixed, with concentration falling in several sectors. The study also detects a pattern of strong productivity growth alongside a shift towards capital intensive operation and increasing trade where concentration is growing. Overall, the implications of these findings point to the possibility that rising market concentration in some industries is technology driven and not due to a lack of competition.

Designing cost-effective methods for implementing measurement, monitoring and verification (MM&V) plans for subsea CO2 storage is an active area of research globally. Despite some preliminary research and examples overseas, there remains a lack of established protocols and configurations for offshore carbon capture and storage (CCS) monitoring overlying storage sites and an absence of methods to establish environmental impact in the event of leakage. Over the last 4 years, CSIRO in collaboration with ANLEC R&D and CarbonNet have been undertaking research in the Gippsland region to inform the development of assurance monitoring approaches for subsea CCS operations to address three key technical assurance monitoring challenges: The ‘signal-to-noise’ problem: distinguishing CO2 release signatures from similar naturally occurring variability to reduce false alarm rates in future baseline monitoring design; characterising impact: determining the level of CO2 release that would be associated with environmental impact at a range of scales; and attributing impact: distinguishing changes resulting from other drivers and pressures in multiple-use zones (e.g. climate change) from the activities of CCS operations. The research has included a wide variety of approaches and technologies including the development and testing of fixed and mobile autonomous monitoring systems, chemical and acoustic sensing and the collection of biological datasets. These data have been used in the development of biogeochemical models and to define possible integrated MM&V frameworks. This paper will summarise this research and identify how it could be applied for offshore CO2 storage projects around Australia.

Gas-powered generation (GPG) will become increasingly critical for keeping the lights on in the east-coast electricity system (the National Electricity Market, NEM). However, energy transition planners still too often assume that GPG, and its gas supply, can continue being perfectly responsive to fluctuating electricity system demand. Multiple perspectives and historical experience suggest this is a poorly founded assumption. We illustrate the risks to NEM resilience, and the planning challenges for the gas sector, by implementing a deep-dive re-model of Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO) 2024 Integrated System Plan (ISP-2024) Step Change scenario. Using AEMO’s own weather scenarios, the volatility in GPG demand will increase to levels far exceeding anything experienced historically in either the electricity or domestic gas supply systems. We also develop our own estimates of renewable energy zone (REZ)-level variable renewable energy (VRE) resource potential, back-cast over an 80-year historical record. This indicates that AEMO’s reliance on only 13 years of weather data is insufficient to capture the full range of possible winter wind production in southern states. This represents a substantial increase in the rate of gas supply (to GPG) that might be required, unanticipated by AEMO’s modelling approach. Infrastructure planning to support the coming energy transition, will need to pay far greater attention to the inherent uncertainty in estimates of future GPG demand.

The Australian Government manages over 10 million km2 of ocean, one of the largest marine jurisdictions in the world. Australia’s marine estate is a significant and growing source of wealth for all Australians. The area is used by a range of industries, government and persons for various purposes including shipping and navigation, tourism, conservation, culture and heritage, commercial and recreational fishing, oil and gas exploration and production, and defence activities. Looking ahead, activities such as carbon capture and storage (CCS) and offshore renewable energy will be active in the offshore. This paper explores the regulatory frameworks which govern interaction and co-existence of CCS projects, petroleum exploration and development and offshore wind proposals in Commonwealth waters.

My role in this conference is to warmly welcome delegates on behalf of Australia's Commonwealth Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, one of the meeting's sponsors. It will also be an honour to acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we will meet - the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. I will highlight some of the achievements of the Australia-ESO strategic partnership during its first 18 months, including activities in instrumentation and industrial liaison as well as science. And I'll suggest in broad terms how Australian astronomers might work towards full membership of ESO - by making the very best use of the strategic partnership today. The presentation will be delivered in close coordination with astronomer Eric Emsellem from ESO.

This report provides information about the Comparison of Selected Legislation in the 110th Congress on Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE).

Australia is a world leader in mineral resources, with the world's largest reserves of iron ore and gold, second largest reserves of bauxite and copper and fifth largest reserves of black coal. Australia is a top-five global producer of twenty important commodities, including gold, bauxite, iron ore, rare earths, mineral sands, zinc, lead and coal. In particular, it is the second largest producer of gold and alumina, third largest producer of uranium and zinc and fifth largest producer of nickel in the world. Australia is also the largest exporter of iron ore, metallurgical coal and bauxite

This report discusses potential issues regarding gasoline prices for the 110th Congress. As prices continued to surge, the continuing crisis renewed attention on some issues that were dropped or compromised in the debate over P.L. 109-58, as well as to a number of initiatives to reduce the impact of high prices on consumers.

Presented on Wednesday 18 May: Session 9 The Australian Government manages over 10 million km2 of ocean, one of the largest marine jurisdictions in the world. Australia’s marine estate is a significant and growing source of wealth for all Australians. The area is used by a range of industries, government and persons for various purposes including shipping and navigation, tourism, conservation, culture and heritage, commercial and recreational fishing, oil and gas exploration and production, and defence activities. Looking ahead, activities such as carbon capture and storage (CCS) and offshore renewable energy will be active in the offshore. This paper explores the regulatory frameworks which govern interaction and co-existence of CCS projects, petroleum exploration and development and offshore wind proposals in Commonwealth waters. To access the presentation click the link on the right. To read the full paper click here

This report gives information related to the high prices of Gasoline and legislation in the 110th Congress.

This report reviews the major legislative initiatives to deal with the gasoline price issue.